


Compass Points You Anywhere (Closer to Me)

by Noducksinpond



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, First Kiss, Multiverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-11 22:58:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5644903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noducksinpond/pseuds/Noducksinpond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The good thing about the multiverse is, that you get to kiss the love of your life for the first time, a lot of times.</p><p>[Barry & Iris through the multiverse]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Earth 0

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, explanation time. This is exactly what it says on the tin. Within the comics, there´s 52 different Earths, each of these chapters is named after one of the Earths, sometimes the Earth in fic is close to the comics, sometimes it´s changed to make this story work. You can find the complete map of the Earths on DC comics´ website, which was a great help planning this. That and the DC wiki. 
> 
> The plan is to update this every Tuesday throughout the year, and since there´s 52 Earths it´s going to stretch across the entire year. So one Westallen kiss per week (yay.) Sometimes the chapter is going to be longer than this, it all depends on the amount of set-up we need, obviously. Also worth noting, we´re saving flarrow canon for last. I think that´s all the explanation we need for this, I don´t even know if that makes sense. (I´m really tired.)
> 
> Earth 0: Where everything´s the same, except the entire Justice League is formed, and Barry never came to live with Joe and Iris.

“The bowtie is cute,” Iris said with a slight tilt of her head and a grin. Barry blushed slightly, fidgeting with the bowtie for what was probably the fiftieth time. She would think so, it was her, who had bought it for him. He reminded himself of that, when his heart was beating a little bit faster. He had tried to convince her, he didn´t need one, but it had been impossible to convince her otherwise. Much like with most things when it came to her. She had taken a step towards him, and he looked down to meet her gaze. Her dark hair was done up in a ponytail, and he didn´t know why exactly, he was paying particular attention to her hair. Actually he probably did know, but he wasn´t about to admit it.

Iris West had made her rounds at the police station for about a month now, asking if anyone had a story. She was a journalist, just started up at Central City Picture News a little while back. Iris was standing across from him in his lab right now, when she´d decided to give him the bowtie. He liked her, if Barry was honest, he´d probably liked her from the first day he met her. They´d started talking, and they got along, really well actually. And if Barry wasn´t kidding himself, she was flirting with him. Although to be honest, he probably was.

This wasn´t the only time, they met of course. She also regularly ran into him, when he wore his red suit, and ran around the streets of Central City, as the Flash. Initially, Iris hadn´t really liked the Flash. He had made her change her mind though. There, he was a little more certain, she was flirting with him. Although obviously, she didn´t know it was him, so that didn´t really do him that much good? Iris swallowed hard and bit her lip. “Although, I gotta admit, I think the guy wearing the bowtie is cuter,” she said, and if he had been drinking anything, he would have choked on it.

“Wait what?” he practically spluttered out the words, and he saw the wide smile spreading across Iris´ lips. It looked like it meant trouble. Iris looked like she was barely containing a laugh, and he suddenly noticed the hand on the edge of his jacket, and it clicked in his brain, exactly the moment, Iris rose to her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. Barry kind of felt like, he was being struck by lightning again, but this time it was so so much better. It wasn´t like any kiss, Barry had ever had before.

It took him a moment, before he figured out exactly what to do with his hands, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. That also pulled her a little closer to him, which he wasn´t exactly complaining about. He was actually doing the exact opposite of complaining about it. It seemed like she wasn´t either, as she opened her mouth slightly and sucked on his bottom lip. Barry let out a small sigh, as she grasped the hair on the back of his head, in her free hand. He bent his head slightly more, trying to kiss her more, even though he really couldn´t. After a long moment, the two of them pulled away from each other, and he knew he was grinning. He didn´t care. “So do- do you want to go out Friday?” he asked breathlessly.

“Friday is tomorrow,” Iris said quietly with that small endearing smile again. He liked that smile a lot, like a lot a lot. Even though, it looked like she was still amused by him. Barry brushed his hand against her cheek, and Iris leant into the touch slightly. Barry kind of felt like his fingers were tingling with electricity, which was funny. He usually only got that feeling, when he was using his powers in any way.

“So?” he asked teasingly, with mock innocence, still grinning. Iris let out an actual giggle, before she leant in to kiss him again. Barry was more than happy about that, as he pulled her closer again.


	2. ?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ?: Where nobody ever had any powers, and Barry and Iris never met as kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It´s Tuesday, so it´s update day. There is a few Earths, which are just labelled ? which basically means DC don´t have any titles set on that Earth and thus don´t have anything decided for what goes on. They´re basically free weeks, and the first one of those is this week.

“Anna likes you,” Iris tells him, as they pause outside the door to her apartment. Barry grins, as if the fact that Iris´ 6 year old daughter likes him is the highest praise, he could possibly get. It makes Iris feel an odd warmth in her chest. Her daughter isn´t the only one who likes Barry Allen, cute science nerd who works with the police. Iris likes him a lot too, Barry is incredibly easy to like. But it´s new, Iris hasn´t really seen anyone since Eddie died 3 years ago. Anna ran inside the apartment right away, not bothering to check if Iris or Barry caught up with her. Not that it surprised Iris; her daughter liked blundering into things. She was one of those kids, you had to keep your eye on most of the time. “Probably because you bought her that ice-cream earlier.”

Not that she is really seeing Barry either. They´re not dating, they´ve been talking for several months, probably 8 months, when she visited her dad at the station, and they spent a lot of time together. Both while he was at work, and not at work. But they weren´t really seeing each other. Not that Iris didn´t want that to change. But she didn´t know how to get on from that point, not anymore. She and Eddie had been together since college, they´d been going steady, they had gotten married, had Anna together and then 3 years ago, everything had ended when Eddie had been shot dead on the force. Iris had kind of been stuck in a hole, only pulling herself out and deal with it, because of Anna.

“Iris, I-“ Barry begun, running a hand through his hair. He looked more than a little awkward about whatever he wanted to say. Iris shouldn´t be worried, there wasn´t really anything worrying about Barry at all. He was Barry. He was like the poster boy for decent sweet guy. But she was still a little worried, unreasonably obviously. But again, she hadn´t done something like this since Eddie. “I think I have something I need to tell you.”

“Okay?” Iris said quietly, and he could probably definitely tell she was worried. She crossed her arms, and tugged them tightly around her chest, a little too defensively maybe. Barry bit his lip a little, before he finally said, what he was meaning to say. Iris may have stopped breathing for a moment.

“I like you,” Barry blurted out, almost sounding breathless when he spoke. Iris couldn´t help the small smile on her face. She hated herself a little bit for the hopeful feeling from her head to her toes. But on the other hand, maybe? Just maybe? Maybe things would go her way for once. “As in romantically like you, and I probably have for a little while. But I just- I wasn´t sure what to do exactly. Because I know- I know things are kind of hard for you, and I wasn´t sure, if that was something you wanted. But I just figured it was better to be honest with you.”

“Barry-“ she began, but she didn´t know how to continue, instead she rose to her toes, god he was tall, and pressed a quick kiss against his mouth. It didn´t feel like any kiss, Iris had ever had before, which was strange. Her heart was literally fluttering in her chest, and the world completely zeroed in, and there was nothing in it but her and Barry. Barry was so stunned, he barely got to respond before Iris had pulled away from him again. To be honest, she had surprised herself a little, by doing that too. The look he gave her was beautiful, he looked surprised, but there was such a warmth to his eyes at the same time, and something in Iris´ chest clenched. He was practically looking at her, like she was made of sunlight.

“Oh,” Barry just said, and the way he said it, made Iris think, he honestly had respected her to reject him. As if she would have ever done that. Apparently, the guy needed to be more observant. Because Iris had been pretty sure, he definitely knew that she liked him already. But since, it had completely missed her, that Barry liked her too, that was probably the pot called the kettle black or something like that. His eyes were practically shining, as he leant in to kiss her again, and Iris´ eyes fluttered shut.

“Mom, the TV isn´t working!” Anna shouted from the living room, and both she and Barry instantly stilled, literally a fraction of an inch away from kissing again. Iris wanted to curse her sweet adorable kid, although she knew Anna hadn´t done it on purpose. Nevertheless Iris still let out a frustrated sigh, and gave Barry an apologetic grin.

“I´ll go fix it,” Barry whispered softly, pressing a kiss against the edge of her mouth before he did. Iris grinned, moving her fingers to brush against her bottom lip, as Barry left her standing in the door. There was something so bright about it. Iris realized it was the future. That the future felt so bright. She still hadn´t stopped smiling, as she headed inside, the theme song to the superhero show, Anna liked so much echoing through the whole apartment.


	3. Earth 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 2: a world terrorized by Zoom, where Jay Garrick was the Flash, until he mysteriously vanished. Later his disappearance, was followed by the one of Harrison Wells´ Barry Allen´s boss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Flash Tuesday everyone, hope you enjoy both this chapter and the new episode. This is a little less cutesy than the first two stories in this, but regardless I hope you´ll still enjoy.

“You know, professor,” Detective Iris West began with a small smirk, and Barry swallowed hard realizing he was in trouble. In reality, he had known he was in trouble from the moment, he had met her eyes for the first time, and his breath had hitched in his throat. That was three weeks ago, when she and the police department had started the investigation of Harrison Wells, his boss´ disappearance. He was walking backwards, as the detective walked closer into his space, until eventually the back of his knees hit the desk, and he had to sit down. Iris grinned victoriously, but if Barry looked a little closer, she looked a little nervous too. Just a bit. Probably not nearly as nervous as he was. “I really thought, that you´d be more, _helpful_.”

“Sorry detective,” he said quietly, his voice a little dry. His eyes flickered to her lips for a moment. He had been working under Harrison Wells for the last 3 years, and even though Doctor Wells wasn´t exactly socializing much, Barry and he knew each other, somewhat. Iris was definitely standing too close to him, for this in any way to be professional, and suddenly Barry wasn´t thinking about Doctor Wells, but rather how gorgeous Iris´ hair was. But it was really pretty.

Barry fidgeted a little with his glasses, and swallowed hard. Iris´ face was about 3 inches away from him, so close he could just move his head a little forward and kiss her if he wanted to, and god he really _really_ wanted to. Iris really hadn´t gotten out of his head, since he met her. He should be moving a bit farther away, but he wasn´t going to, instead he was just starting at her lips again. “If there´s- If there´s anything else I can do-“ He began, trailing off a little.

“Oh believe me,” Iris began, hand resting on the collar of his tweed jacket. He noticed the hand was shaking a bit. It was a loose grip, and he could easily move away if he wanted. Her smile was oddly smug or at least trying to be, and it made something in his chest twist and ache. He let out a long heaving breath, and sucked on his bottom lip for a moment. God, he really wanted to kiss her. “There is.”

Iris angled her head slightly, and kissed him. Hard. Her hand was resting on the back of his neck, fingers pressed into his skin. Barry responded almost instantly, pulling him towards her, practically crushing her against him. It was more a collision than a kiss at first. But then again, this whole thing had kind of felt like a crash. Like, _congratulations, here is Iris West and she´s the most beautiful, gorgeous woman you have ever met in your entire life. Good luck with that_. Both of them were breathing hard, as they pulled away from each other.

“Wow,” he whispered softly, his forehead resting against hers. Her chest was heaving, and he could hear his own heart pounding in his ears. He didn´t even know why, but there was such an intensity to this whole thing, that knocked him off his feet. His hand brushed along her lower back, and Iris shuddered underneath his fingers. His hands slowly moved slightly lower, and he didn´t fail to notice Iris´ grin. He suddenly noticed, she was standing in between his thighs, right in front of where he was sitting at the desk. Barry let out a long heavy breath. He really really wanted to kiss her again.

“Yeah. Wow,” she whispered with a soft, sweet smile. It surprised him, because the detective had seemed hard around the edges since he met her. She dove in to kiss him again, letting him pull her closer as her hands were planted flat on his chest, practically radiating warmth through his shirt. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers lacing together. Barry groaned into her mouth, when she pulled the hair at his neck slightly. Her body was pressed against his, he licked into her mouth, and she moaned. Barry´s head was spinning, but god it was amazing.

Making out with Iris West in his lab, definitely met and surpassed any and all expectations.


	4. Earth 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 17: Fifty years after a nuclear war, the heroes of Earth-17 are on a last-chance quest to save their world’s scattered population. The team of heroes run into a small group of rebels, lead by a young woman named Iris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, happy Flash day. I hope everyone enjoys the new episode tonight, as well as this story.

“You should go back inside,” Barry can hear his own voice is shaky, of course the slow steps behind him could just be Hal, Oliver or even Batman. Barry knows it´s not though. He turns around to see Iris, just like he had expected her to do. Her messy, dark, curly hair falls just beneath her chin, and there is a sad look in her eyes. She looks tired, actually exhausted if he is honest. But the captain had insisted on bringing her small group along with them, after they´d found them.

In a way, he was happier she was here, than back in the ghost like city, where they´d found her and her friends. It meant, he could look after her. As much as she hated that, and as much, as he didn´t like to have to admit, he wanted to look after her. It was odd, they hadn´t been together that long, but regardless he couldn´t deny, he wanted to look after her. “The captain says we´re leaving in the morning.”

“Darkseid?” she asked quietly. Iris took a couple of steps towards him. She approached him slowly, carefully, almost like she was scared of what he´d do. He just nods and sighs heavily. She sounded more scared or worried about him, than she did about Darkseid. Barry wasn´t entirely sure why, and he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. She fiddled with her hands a little. It was odd, if she was more worried about him than Darkseid. Darkseid was currently considering whether to destroy the world for good, or just continue to rule it with an iron fist.

“He´s not that close, but we don´t have much time,” he explained. Iris opens her mouth to say something, but she doesn´t. But he sees the sad smile on her lips. She hoisted up in her too big military jacket; the sleeves were covering her hands. Barry gave her a weak smile, almost apologetic. He was sorry she had to be here. Not that any of them had ever known anything else. The nuclear war, 50 years ago had reduced Earth´s population to less than half, and large areas of land were completely ruined.

“We never have much time, do we?” Iris asked softly. She was standing a lot closer to him then, and he let out a long shuddering breath. It felt like he could feel the entire space between them. He hated to admit it, because he´d rather things were easier, but he didn´t want her to leave. He cared a lot about her, and he didn´t really want to think too hard about how much. His breath catches in his throat, when she cups his face in her hands.

He is the one who kisses her. There´s a tinge of sadness to it, like both of them know there´s a big risk they won´t survive until tomorrow night. Or the night after that. They move slowly, like both of them wants to linger and make it last as long as possible. The kiss is a little deeper, but not by much. Her tongue slips into his mouth, and he buries his fingers in her hair. As she pulled away from him, she let out a long shuddering breath. Barry leant in to kiss her again, because he wanted to, he really badly wanted to. She put a hand on his chest, stopping him. He gave her a confused look.

“After,” she whispered softly, and gave him a warm smile. She brushed her hand across his suit, and he felt like every nerve ending underneath her palm tingled with electricity. He mirrored her small smile, and brushed his fingers through her hair. Her hair was incredibly soft, and he kind of wanted to just keep running his fingers through it, for as long as she´d let him. “After, we win.”

“Maybe, we won´t,” he argued quietly, there was a reason he looked after her or tried to. He didn´t want any harm to come to her. Iris brushed a hand along his chin. His hands were shaking slightly, where his arms were wrapped around her. He leant his forehead against hers, and let out a long breath. His breathing was slow, and he felt less worried now, less stressed. He couldn´t explain why, but he did. Maybe it was just because she was here, and she was okay. For now anyway, and there was that worry again.

“And maybe we will,” Iris retorted under her breath, and there was an odd warmth in his chest, that Barry didn´t recognize. He closed his eyes. She was right, of course she was right. But he couldn´t help being worried, regardless of that. “There´s no way of knowing.”


	5. Earth 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 34: Cosmoville is the superhero capital on this Earth, a shining metropolis kept safe by the light brigade. This city has two speedsters roaming the streets, the Flash and Lightning girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lets get this out of the way, I know this is late. I really am sorry, but the last couple of days, have been incredibly stressful for me, I´d rather not get specific. Regardless of that, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I promise we´ll be back on schedule next week.

Everything slowed down around Iris. It always did, whenever she was running. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and like electricity ran through her veins. She was used to the feeling, of course of moving at top speed. But nevertheless, Iris loved running. There was nothing quite like it, and despite living in the city of superheroes, she had yet to meet anyone, who could understand the feeling. Nobody in the entire universe. Well except maybe one person.

He was running next to her, the Flash. He had moved here from Central City a couple of years ago, as far as she knew. That was at least how it had made sense to her, and she was a journalist by trade. They ran together often, they rarely talked, but every now and again they did. Iris had realized, she was glad he was there. She had had her powers her whole life, but she hadn´t realized, how alone she felt until one day the Flash had shown up. “To the city limit?” she asked, the only response she got was a wide grin.

They reached the city limit in roughly 20 seconds, and they really hadn´t been in a hurry. The two of them stopped on a desolate field, in between some trees. It was about ten at night, so the air was cold and the dark shrouded them. His eyes were shining, and he had such a soft and nice look to them, that it caught Iris off guard. He was a superhero; he fought bad guys every day, even more than she did as Lightning Girl. But nobody could give her as soft a look, as he could. “Are you ever going to let me see your face?” Iris asked, her voice the first thing to break the silence. They spoke at their speed, super speed, nobody could hear them but themselves.

“Are you ever going to let me see yours?” he asked, his voice teasing. Iris gave him a smile, and if it had been lighter, she could have sworn she saw his cheeks redden. But it was not that dark, even though she couldn´t be sure, he was actually blushing. She crossed her arms and gave him a sly look.

“You could have just asked,” Iris bit back, but with no venom in her voice. Then she saw him move his hands, and slowly pull his cowl down. Iris let out a shuddering breath against her will, and she knows, she is staring at him. He has brown hair, pale skin and a nice handsome face. She has known him for so long, and now she can finally put a face to her Flash. She wondered when she started thinking of him, as her Flash. He looked down to the ground, and bit his lip.

“Your turn,” he said under his breath, and Iris complied removing her hood, and her mask. If she´d thought, she had been staring before, he was most certainly staring at her now. She let out a long breath, as he stepped closer to her, pausing for a long moment. “You´re beautiful,” he said softly, and something inflated in her chest.

“You too,” she replied without thinking. She hurried to get her point across, because this was embarrassing. It was surprisingly hard to actually talk to him, after just running with him for as long as she had. “I mean- You´re really handsome. And you know- You don´t exactly have to wear a mask. It´s nice to meet you, Flash, is what I´m trying to say.”

He chuckled at that, and then they looked at each other again. Iris let out a long heavy breath, before she rose to her tiptoes and kissed him. It wasn´t like kissing a stranger. Maybe it should have been, she didn´t even know his name. But instead there was a strange familiarity, it came from running together for so long, and it was okay. It clicked, magic puzzle pieces or whatever. His right hand cradled the back of her head, and Iris angled her head slightly, leaning into his touch. It was funny in a sense, she didn´t even know his name, and here she was kissing him. But maybe that was because she had realized something, he was the only person who truly knew her. The only person who knew what running at the speed of sound felt like in your bones.

There was a quiet silence between them, as they pulled away from each other a little. Iris rested her forehead against his. She felt like, she should say something. Like they should say something. But neither did, neither said a word. Instead, Iris angled her head a little, and kissed him again, this time deeper and slower. His mouth opened, and her tongue moved inside his mouth, and he sighed heavily, pulling her closer to him. His fingers rested on the small of her back. The two of them had never really needed to say anything, and it didn´t seem like they were starting now. They finally came up for a breath, and for a long moment they were silent once again. “Actually my name is Barry,” he whispered under his breath, as they pulled away from each other.

“Mine is Iris,” she whispered softly, and she couldn´t help but love the brilliant smile on his face.


	6. Earth 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 3: Where everyone who is good in the main continuity is bad, and vice versa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Flash Tuesday everyone. This update is essentially the polar opposite of last week´s update.

“Drop it,” a vibrating voice bit sharply at her and Iris couldn´t help the wide smirk on her face. Iris had kind of hoped, she would actually run into him at some point. After all, she did consider herself a fan of his work. She couldn´t help the small giggle. She slowly turned around, putting down the weapon, she had been about to get away with. Would have made her a small fortune too. The Reverse Flash was standing at the opposite side of the lab. Iris´ smirk turned into an actual grin.

“Oh come on baby, don´t treat me like that,” Iris said, her voice laced with faux innocence. She took a couple of steps towards him, and his slightly vibrating silhouette didn´t move. She was really glad, he was the one who had interrupted her successful heist, she much preferred him to the annoying little Flash. Granted, she unfortunately wasn´t in a position where she should be calling him baby, however Iris had learned that a sure fire way to get what you wanted, was to be at least slightly patronizing to men. At least when you added just the right amount of flirting on top. “You know, I was only gonna use this little cold gun on the Flash, don´t you? I could never hurt you,” her voice was sickly sweet, even to her own ears.

Iris paused in front of him, and looked him up and down. She had only seen him around town in glimpses, but she liked him. Word was, he was in with the Crime Syndicate, which wasn´t exactly something, she could say for herself. More free spirited criminals such as herself, didn´t have the luxury of the president being afraid of them. He was younger than the Flash, and he filled out that suit really nicely. That was something she could appreciate, especially when she was this close to him. Iris didn´t know anything else about him, not that she really needed to know anything else. She reached up and cupped his chin in her hand harshly, and he instantly stopped vibrating. “I will destroy that weapon,” he sneered at her.

“Feel free,” Iris said quietly, keeping on her confident grin. She couldn´t let him see, she needed it. If she wanted to pull any heists in this god-forsaken city, she needed a weapon against the Flash. The cold gun was her only option. But that was another thing, she´d learned. You don´t reveal your weaknesses to the enemy. But she needed the gun, and maybe having a crush on the Reverse Flash could be useful there. Not saying, she had a crush on him though. Just theoretically. “I figured, I´d stop the Flash since none of your people seem to do it, but feel free,” Iris finished off, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“You´re good,” he said matter of factly. Iris hated that it felt nice to hear him say that. She didn´t need anybody´s praise. She brushed her thumb dangerously close to his bottom lip, but she heard the small sigh that escaped him. She wondered what other nice things might come out of his mouth, if she kept this up.

“Impressed?” she asked, trying to contain her smug smile. She was probably failing spectacularly, but he didn´t seem to notice. In reality, it seemed like he was transfixed about her in an entirely different way, and Iris should feel small under his heavy gaze, but she didn´t. Instead she felt in control, because she was.

“No,” his voice a little closer to the vibrating voice from before. But he was still clearly shaken by her. He was so obviously lying, and it was funny to her that a simple jewel thief like herself rattled the great Reverse Flash. Iris placed her other hand on the back of his neck, and he was definitely breathing a little harder. Then she pulled him down to her, and kissed him hungrily. He caught onto her almost instantly, and bit down hard on her lip, pulling her closer to him. He was out of breath, when Iris pulled herself away from him forcefully, and she grinned. Her hand was feather light against his cheek.

“See baby?” she said, her chest heaving. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and it felt like electricity was tingling in her veins. He was staring at her lips, and she was acutely aware of it. “I knew you were impressed.”

He didn´t respond to her, he just pulled her closer to him again.


	7. Earth 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 12: On a Earth where the timeline is running ahead, Wally West has been the Flash for 6 years, after the original Flash of Central City mysteriously disappears. Wally´s cousin Iris has been reporting on the Flash since the first sighting, although she never knew the original Flash, Barry Allen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Flash Tuesday. I am so excited about the new episode, and I hope you guys enjoy both this and the new episode.

“There you go, Iris,” Wally said with a grin, which was weird to hear him say when he was wearing the Flash suit. Iris laughed quietly, as her feet made contact with the ground. Super speed always made her kind of giggly. Not that she didn´t appreciate the rescue, having a cousin with super speed was really convenient for a journalist, who was good at getting in trouble a little too often. “Back home at your place.”

“Thanks Wally,” she gave him a tight hug, which was a bit of a feat, given how much her baby cousin was taller than her. “Say hi to Linda for me.”

“Will do,” Wally promised her, and Iris didn´t miss the smile, that appeared on his face, when he thought about his wife. Iris kind of wished, she had someone in her life that meant as much to her, as Linda did to Wally. Wally and Linda were each other´s world. Well, maybe she did. But she was never really sure about that, even if it had been 3 months by now. They weren´t really anything, hardly friends. He hardly talked even now, which worried her a little, but she wasn´t going to tell him that, it would just make him feel bad. She watched as her cousin, the one guy she could count on actually being clear and honest with her, speeded away down the street, faster than she could even fathom.

Iris had been living on her own for the last 6 years, or mostly alone actually. She and Eddie had broken up at around the same time, as Wally had moved to Central City and the first Flash had disappeared. Iris had thrown herself into her work as a journalist, she´d gotten a hard earned Pulitzer and she´d been mostly happy. Eventually Wally got his powers, and there had been a whole new Flash to write about, and this time she´d known his secret identity. Iris unlocked the door to her place, and the entire apartment was dark. She almost thought, he was asleep, until she heard the crying noise. It was a quiet noise, and most people would have missed it. Iris was used to it. “Barry?” she asked, not getting any other answer than the silent apartment.

She found him huddled against the big window in her living room, and he looked like he was shaking. Iris fell to her knees next to him. He was asleep clearly, but he had nightmares. He always had nightmares. Barry Allen had been the first Flash, Iris had figured that out 3 months ago, when he´d suddenly showed up again. According to Wally, he had disappeared into something called the speed force. Linda and Wally lived in an even smaller apartment than Iris, which was why Wally had asked her if Barry could have her spare room. Iris had said yes of course, and she´d grown rather attached to him over this time, if she had to be honest with herself. Barry was sweet, but incredibly quiet and there was more than one sullen silence, where Iris wished there was something she could do to help him. Iris shook him slightly. “Barry, Barry wake up! You´re just dreaming, wake up,” Iris said calmly.

“Iris?” His voice was barely audible, but he was clearly awake then. He rubbed his eyes, wiping away his tears. Something in her stomach sunk. Barry shuffled around sitting up properly, grabbing the book that had been laying on the floor next to him. “I´m okay, sorry- I must have just fallen asleep reading.”

“Barry,” she said softly, making him look at her. He looked tired, he always looked tired according to Iris, but he would never tell her why. He wouldn´t tell her, what he´d seen in the speed force, or why he kept having nightmares about it. She brushed her hand across his arm. “Just stay here okay? Talk to me, tell me what´s going on.”

“It doesn´t matter, I´ll be fine, Iris,” Barry said dismissively, the only thing that wasn´t dismissive was his small smile. He looked happy to have her there, like he didn´t want to let her go, but something clenched in Iris´ chest. She gave him a disbelieving look, and he tried smiling a little wider, as if that would convince her, he was all right. “Iris, I will be fine. Just go to sleep, it looks like it´s late. I´ll be fine.”

“It matters to me,” Iris said. They were sitting next to each other, leaning against the big window. Her side was touching him, but Iris hadn´t even noticed until now. Part of her thought, she needed to move, but another much larger part of her, didn´t want to move an inch. “But you don´t have to tell me anything, if you don´t want to. But, if you do want to talk to someone, you can talk to me. I may not have been trapped in the speed force for years, but I am a pretty good listener, if you´ll let me be.”

“I don´t know what I´d do without you,” he said under his breath, finally meeting her eyes again. Iris stared at him, her chest suddenly feeling warmer. Barry never talked much, so it wasn´t exactly something, Iris would have expected him to say. Not now, not ever. Barry looked like he was blushing, and regretting what he´d said, and Iris hated that that actually made her smile, and smile really widely, even if Barry hardly seemed to notice it. “I am sorry, that was weird. I shouldn´t have said that. I am just your unlikely roommate, it´s not like-”

“Barry-“ she put a hand on his arm, effectively stopping him. That warm nice feeling was still taking up her entire chest. He stilled, staring at her, his mouth hanging slightly open. She pressed a chaste kiss against the edge of his mouth, moving quickly. There was an unexpected warmth in his eyes, as she pulled away from him again, and her voice was barely above a whisper. “It´s okay, believe me.”

This time, his smile most certainly reached his eyes, as he just stared at her for a long moment. Of course, Iris was staring right back.


	8. Earth 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 41: the world where Zoom beats both Barry Allen and Wally West and effectively takes control of Central City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a week late, I know that and I am sorry. The last three weeks has been full of problems (if you follow me on tumblr, you might know that,) and I decided writing last week´s update as well as this week´s update should happen in their own time. That also means there´s another update coming later today, and then we should be all caught up. Two fics of the first day of hiatus isn´t so bad either, is it?

“How are the guns?” Barry asked, as he entered the kitchen of the small apartment. Iris was sitting cross legged on the floor, cleaning her gun, and she looked up as Barry entered. Iris gave him a small smile, getting that he was trying to joke around. He wasn´t just trying to joke though, he wanted to cheer her up. If that was even possible at this point.

“Guns are fine, thank you,” Iris said, and put the gun, she´d just cleaned onto the desk. Barry didn´t really like using the guns too much, but it wasn´t like they had that many other options by now. Not since both Wally and Barry had lost their powers a year ago and Zoom had been able to take over for good. It was the reason, her dad had finally given up on keeping her out of any kind of crossfire. Journalists weren´t much good, when your city was ruled by a speed demon. “How are you?”

“I am okay,” he promised her with a weak smile. Iris gave him a look, she clearly didn´t believe what he was saying. Not that Barry was surprised, he wouldn´t have believed himself either, if he was in her place. “I am!” he insisted more stubbornly. He looked down at the floor for a moment and swallowed hard. “I just- I just wish I could be more helpful.”

“You are helping,” Iris told him, and came to a halt in front of him. She put her hands on his shoulders, and it felt like a jolt ran through his veins. But she instantly got his attention, as his eyes snapped up to meet hers. He shook his head. She was just saying it to make him feel better. That was the bad thing about Iris being his best friend. She was always going to try and make him feel better, no matter what. No matter if he deserved it. “You are. You´re just- you´re just not the Flash anymore. But you´re still helping.”

“You know, you doing that as a default, is really not working,” he argued with a bitter tone, only recognizing just how bitter he sounded, once he´d said it.

“What do you mean?” Iris asked with a confused look, and Barry sighed quietly. He shoved his hands into his pockets, and wasn´t really sure what to do with himself. Had he still had his speed, he would probably have bolted out of the room.

“You always believe in me, no matter how much things aren´t working for me. No matter how much we lose, you always believe in the Flash. But I´m not the Flash anymore and I-“ Barry began, and swallowed hard. He took a step away from her, forcing her to let go of his shoulders.

“Barry, I don´t just believe in you, because you were a superhero for 5 years,” Iris told him with a soft endearing smile. The most beautiful smile in the whole damn world. She managed to grab his wrist, before he could move out of her reach. Unlike a year ago, it was easy for her to catch him. Avoiding having to confront her was one of those things, he kind of missed being able to do at light speed. Iris met his eyes, once he paused. “I love you, you know that right?”

“Yeah,” he said quietly, even though that was a big fat lie. They hadn´t talked about that in a long while. The last time they had, she´d said she wasn´t ready to take that risk yet, then Wally had gotten his powers, Iris had gotten lost in the future, and once she came back, Zoom had won. Then other things hadn´t seemed as important. They tended not to, when your city was practically ruined by an evil version of the Flash. “Or no actually, I didn´t know that.”

“You didn´t?” Iris said, clearly surprised by that. Barry just looked at her for a long moment. She scrunched her face in a motion, and looked down at the floor, clearly thinking about something. Iris sucked on her bottom lip for a second. Then she looked up at him again, her eyes both unyielding and kind of scared. Like she´d put her mind up to something, but wasn´t sure she could actually do it. Barry knew that look very well. “Well- I do, so there´s that.”

“Yeah,” he said quietly, not entirely sure what else to say. For a long moment, the two of them were just looking at each other, and the air practically seemed to vibrate between them. Iris let out a long shuddering breath. He reached up and cupped her face in his hands, his hands shaking a little, and the smile on her face seemed to light up everything around them. Something in Barry´s chest inflated. “Thanks.”

He kissed her then, it was the only thing he wanted to do. The only thing that made sense. Iris quickly caught on to what he was doing, and wrapped her arms behind his neck. There was something about this, that made it feel like electricity was running under his skin, something he hadn´t felt since he lost his powers. But that didn´t even matter, the only thing that mattered was Iris. Iris sucking on his bottom lip, the two of them pressed against each other, when he´d backed her against the kitchen desk. She tugged slightly on the hair in his neck, and he groaned into her mouth.

Iris smiled and ruined the kiss a little by that, but luckily he could just kiss her again. Barry´s thumb ran along her jaw, and she shuddered slightly. He almost considered lifting her up, and levelling the playing field a little bit, until his brain functioned, and he remembered that the kitchen desk was practically covered in guns. So that was not happening. After a long moment, the two of them pulled away from each other. “Thanks for what?” Iris asked quietly, as she leant her forehead against his.

“Being the number one Flash fangirl,” Barry muttered under his breath, slightly teasing, and Iris laughed breathlessly, before she kissed him again in a long moment.

“Bartholomew,” Iris exclaimed, half fake outrage half laughter, and shoved his arm. Then Barry chuckled, Iris laughed again, and suddenly nothing about how bad the world was, seemed to matter even one tiny bit. As they were together, it would be alright.


	9. ?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ?: where Barry Allen is a bumbling Science teacher, and Iris West is a slightly awkward English teacher, and they each have a crush on the other one, but neither one of them is going to make a move without some help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is this week´s second update. We should be back on schedule on Tuesday, hope you enjoy this update.

“You´re staring!” Linda pointed out with the usual bite in her voice. Iris was effectively ripped out of her thoughts, and stared at the fellow English teacher. Linda had her usual blend of annoyance and genuinely caring about Iris, her job and food look on her face. The everything kind of sucks, but at the same time I really like it look, that nobody who hadn´t seen it in person, could really understand completely.

“I am sorry, what?” Iris asked, slightly disorientated. Was Linda saying she was staring at Mr Allen from the science department? Because she was, but she wasn´t about to admit it right now. He was really cute, and he was really nice, and yeah, she should probably stop that train of thought right there. Iris bit her nails, which was a bad habit that she should really have given up at this point.

“You´re _staring_ ,” Linda said, and gave her another look. Iris really didn´t want to pick a fight with Linda in the corner of the teacher´s lounge, with the science department´s employees in the other end of the room. There was about ten teachers today at that table, but Barry Allen could clearly be seen from where they were sitting. Which might have been a factor, in where Iris had decided to sit, once she´d finished her class before lunch. “Ask him out, he´s single, Ramon told me.”

“They´re friends?” Iris asked. Linda just shrugged. Linda got along really well with Cisco Ramon, even though they didn´t work in the same departments, but Iris knew the two of them mainly talked about music. Neither of them were fans of talking about personal stuff, apparently with the exception of Iris´ personal stuff. But then again her crush on Barry Allen was more than a little bit embarrassing, even if Barry and Iris were sort of friends. But they weren´t exactly close friends, they passed by each other in the hallways, talked at school events, and he always had one of the nicest smiles, Iris had ever seen on his face, whenever he saw Iris.

“Oh, don´t give me that look, you know you want to ask him out,” Linda said, mercifully lowering her voice a little. Iris was this close to thanking some kind of higher power for that.

“Yes, but that doesn´t mean, I want to gossip about it in the teachers’ lounge, Lin,” Iris bit at her. Linda gave her a slightly amused and practically gleeful smile. Iris sighed heavily. Lost course clearly. But Iris West never gave up that easily. She was going to ask Barry out eventually, just not- just not right now.

“Look, go ask him out and I´ll leave it alone. He likes you, I can tell. And you´re a grown ass woman, Iris,” Linda continued, her tone nicer than it had been before. Iris scoffed. “Pretty please?” she asked again, and Iris sighed heavily, knowing she had lost the battle. She had to at least get up from her chair and go talk to him, even though she both wanted to and really didn´t want to. But before Iris could work up the courage to get up, Linda had already pulled her up. Mercifully, people were beginning to mill out of the teachers´ lounge.

“Hey, Allen, you know Iris,” Linda said, as they came to a halt by the table. Barry looked up from the material he had been in the middle of going through. He had to push up his glasses, because they slid down his nose. He was a geek, a really huge geek actually. He wore a tweed suit, round glasses and he constantly looked like he had a lot to do. He was cute in that nerdy professor way though, but then again her own students described her as the most boring looking, fun teacher they´d ever had, with her slacks and hair always in a bun. So no wonder, she thought a nerdy looking professor was really really cute. But anyway, Barry´s mouth was moving, so better keep focus.

“Yes-“ he began, and his smile was absolutely and completely brilliant. But again keep focus, Iris. His voice was shaking and he was fiddling nervously with his hands. He suddenly looked down at her, and actually met her eyes. Something in Iris´ chest clenched, and Barry pushed his glasses up his nose. “I do know her,” he said, his voice soft and warm. He was still staring at her, the kind of stare that made Iris´ breath catch in her throat, and her heart quicken.

“I wanted to ask you something,” Iris said, trying her hardest for a bright smile, which was hard because honestly she just felt nervous about this. She could talk to him fine at any other occasion, but this, knowing what she was about to ask him was terrifying in all honesty. She would have run away to the north pole, if Linda hadn´t probably still be standing right behind her. But Iris was too nervous to even look back and check for moral support. “Do you want to go have a drink sometime? Or it doesn´t have to be a drink- Just you know, go somewhere after work- together.”

“Are you asking me out?” Barry asked, the words rushing across his lips. He sounded confused, but other than that, Iris couldn´t figure out exactly what he was thinking. It was hard to hear, in his tone of voice, and she would be lying, if that wasn´t just a teeny tiny bit worrying.

“Yes! No- Maybe, I don´t- Yes,” she blurted out. Barry looked more than slightly confused, until the last yes, where a small smile spread across his lips. But Iris felt like she had to say it again, and say it right this time. Even if she suddenly noticed, Linda wasn´t standing around as her backup anymore. “Barry Allen, do you want to go on a date with me?”

“Yes,” he said simply, and pressed a kiss against her cheek. Iris froze completely, and Barry quickly pulled away from her, like he was slightly horrified by what he´d just done. Iris was pretty sure, her heart was beating at a thousand miles per hour, and her skin was tingling. She wished he would have lingered a little longer. She wanted to kiss him, just on the mouth, but that was a little bit too forward, so instead she just met his eyes, and gave him a warm smile. He was blushing. “I am sorry, Iris. I shouldn´t have done that, that was a little bit weird.”

“I don´t mind,” she said quietly, and squeezed his hand slightly, and there was the bright and beautiful smile, she´d liked ever since she saw it the first time, again.


	10. Earth 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 31: Lift anchor and set sail on the seas of Earth-31, a post-apocalyptic world drowned by global warming and tectonic shifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much to say for this one, other than kisses on a boat, yay. Hope you enjoy.

Today had been an eventful day to say it lightly, at least if you asked Barry. But then again, he wasn´t the sort of person, who liked being busy that much. He spent most of his time on board the SS Lightning, inside the ship listening to radio messages and the like. He also had to look out for the tectonic warnings, so the SS Lightning could get safely to it´s destination. Barry liked his job, it was a lot of numbers, but he was good at numbers, so it wasn´t exactly a problem. That had been until the thing that had happened at noon.

Sailing across the massive seas, pirates weren´t an unusual thing. Barry had seen them before, but the ship had never been boarded before, which was exactly what had happened. In fact, he had been in the middle of work, when suddenly everything had seemed to go wrong, as one of the pirates broke into the hull. It probably would have gone very very wrong, if the captain´s daughter Iris, one of his best friends on board, hadn´t been there to help him out. Barry smiled a little at the memory.

“Allen?” Speak of the devil – or the exact opposite of the devil actually. Iris always seemed a lot smaller than him, her shoes were always flat and she was already short. Her dark hair was tied up in a bun and the cut from the sword was obvious on her cheek. He felt really bad about that. “How´s the arm?” she asked as she entered the room.

“Okay,” he said, and looking down a little into his shoes. Iris smiled at him, and Barry had to admit that smile made him feel something. He wasn´t sure exactly what it was, but it was definitely something. She took a couple of steps towards him, and then quickly came to a halt. “Thanks for saving my ass.”

“You knocking that cane into his head helped too,” Iris said with a loop sided grin. Barry grinned, and fiddled with something on his desk. It might be something, he shouldn´t fiddle with, but that was a problem for future Barry. He gave her a wide smile, but still wasn´t quite looking into her eyes, because he was kind of nervous about it. Iris may be his best friend, but he felt nervous about this, because it felt like something had clicked in a way, when she´d finally managed to knock the guy down, and had looked at him. He didn´t know exactly what, and that was terrifying.

“I wasn´t that helpful,” he said quietly, running his fingers through his hair. He wouldn´t even have had the cane, if it hadn´t been for the accident that had ripped something over in his leg, when he was a child. The exo skeleton was the reason he could even walk, but he still wouldn´t have managed to get around that well without the cane. Lucky thing, it was made of metal or banging it into that guy´s skull wouldn´t have worked.

“Sure you were,” Iris rebutted, her smile shining like the sun. Her hand rested on his arm, but he didn´t pull his hand away from her, instead he just stared at her hand. Iris was the kind of person, who could be incredibly handsy, often without even putting a second thought to it. She didn´t now either, at least not as far as Barry could tell. He usually didn´t mind at all, barely noticed it by now, but he definitely noticed it right now. He might have been a little sorry that she moved and let go. Not that he was going to hold on that thought for too long. “I would have a lot worse than that scratch if it wasn´t for you.”

“Looks like a little more than a scratch,” Barry muttered, not being able to keep his concern for her quiet.

“Barry, I´m fine,” Iris said stubbornly, making him meet her gaze, he knew he had been avoiding her eyes, which was weird, and he wasn´t exactly sure, why he´d done it. But he was definitely definitely staring at her now. “Honestly okay? I am fine.”

“I´m sorry,” Barry mumbled quietly, biting his lip. Iris took a step towards him, and came to an abrupt halt. She swallowed hard. Everything around them seemed to be silent, he didn´t know how that was, you could always hear the waves on board. But right now, the only thing that seemed to even exist was Iris, and that alone should have made him think. It didn´t. “I know, you can handle yourself just fine.”

“You got that right,” Iris said with a smirk, and Barry laughed awkwardly. She put a hand on his arm, and he stopped laughing, meeting her eyes again. Her lips parted slightly, not that he was staring at her lips, and suddenly her lips were pressed firmly against his, kissing him hard. Then it was like that thing, that had clicked in his head earlier, when she knocked that pirate out in the control room, and they´d looked at each other, finally made sense, and he pulled her towards him. He dipped his head, her mouth opening and his tongue sliding into her mouth. She tasted like that candy she always liked to chew. Barry had never been able to figure out, what exact flavour it was, but kissing Iris, he just knew the flavour was amazing.

They stood like that for a long moment, lips moving against each other, her fingers buried deep in his hair, and his hands on her back. After a long moment, Iris pulled away from him. Despite the fact, that he probably needed to catch his breath, he practically trailed after her, and Iris laughed quietly, giving him a bright and shining smile. “That was nice,” she said, her voice warm. He was probably blushing, it wouldn´t surprise him if he was.

“Yeah,” he replied, not caring too much how smitten it sounded, because he knew it did. He leant into kiss her again. “It was.”


	11. Earth 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth 42: a high school au

“So, Iris what is it going to be? Truth or dare?” It´s Linda, her best friend in the whole world, who asks the question, which means either way, Linda has way too much leverage against her. Iris shrugs, fiddling with the long braid hanging down her shoulder for a moment, biting down on her bottom lip. The rest of them are looking at her, clearly wanting her to just make up her mind already. Iris could argue that playing truth or dare in junior year of high school was childish, but nevertheless here she was. Then again their questions weren´t always that PG.

“Dare I guess,” Iris replied, and the instant she saw Linda´s grin, she knew she´d made a mistake, but she wasn´t going to back paddle with half their class sitting around her, shooting expectant looks at Linda. Linda grinned, and Iris was definitely definitely making a mistake. But again, she was not going to back paddle, so she gave Linda a look to make up her mind, about what she was going to do.

“How about you kiss- How about you kiss,” Linda began purposefully drawing it out for more drama. Caitlin Snow rolled her eyes, this game wasn´t even Cait´s kind of thing. Linda pointed at one of the boys, and Iris´ heart sunk, as soon as she said the name. Not that she didn´t like him, which was the exact problem. “Barry!”

“What?” Barry, the boy in question, exclaimed half in shock and half just in pure confusion. Iris really really had to run away, right now immediately. Fuck Linda, fuck Linda for being her best friend, fuck Linda for having leverage over her all the time. Just fuck it all. Barry ran his fingers through his already really messy hair, which Iris was not at all noticing. She may not at all have mentioned to Linda that she thought Barry had nice hair. Of course, not. “What? Me? What- are you serious?”

“Of course, I am,” Linda replied cheerfully, clearly missing Iris´ deadly glare in her direction. Iris shouldn´t be surprised by that to be honest, Linda was good at ignoring things, when she was dead set on something. “Why not?”

Barry clearly didn´t have a good answer to that, so one of the guys shoved him in Iris´ general direction. His grin was awkward, and he was avoiding looking directly into her eyes. Iris tried to give him a reassuring smile, but she was pretty sure it came off as more of a grimace. “Sorry,” Iris mumbled, because Barry seemed to be more than slightly uncomfortable about it. They weren’t exactly good friends, they weren´t actually even really friends, so this couldn´t be laughed off as a joke, and she was really going to have to murder Linda after this.

“No,” he muttered quietly, looking into her eyes for a moment, and Iris´ breath catching in her throat. Stupid, stupid feelings. “It´s cool, I promise.”

“Okay then,” she said, avoiding looking into his eyes, as she leant in and pressed her lips against his, in one swift movement. Barry seemed to be slightly stunned, even though he´d said it was cool. Which was weird that he´d said that, but she shouldn´t think about that right now, while she was still kissing him. Iris angled her head slightly, and Barry had a hand on her arm, and she was definitely noticing it. She was definitely noticing it, and his hand was warm and nice.

Iris pulled away from him, because a deeper kiss would make this weirder, and gave him a smile. This time, it felt like more of a genuine smile, than it had before. Barry was staring at her, but there was something nice and soft in his eyes, that Iris couldn´t quite place. Something clenched in her chest, and looked away from him. Barry let go of her arm, and Iris kind of missed it.

“Well, that was boring,” Linda said with a clearly smug smile. But Iris wasn´t paying that much attention to her. Barry settled back into where he had been sitting before, and she crossed her arms. “Who are you going to pick Iris?” It dawned on Iris that the game couldn´t continue without her doing something.

“Cisco,” Iris said, knowing that the guy hadn’t been asked a question in a while. Cisco rolled his eyes dramatically and slammed his face against his palms. Caitlin laughed a little at that. “Truth or dare?”


End file.
